The sword was clear and quiet, its edge whispering softly. Lu Yuan drew his blade.

The Vice-Lord of the Javelin Civilization was a ruthless figure, a true schemer. Even severely wounded, he fought desperately for survival, trying to flee as fast as possible.

But alas, Lu Yuan’s longsword pierced the Vice-Lord’s body without mercy, puncturing his heart. Lu Yuan looked down at him and stated, "You betrayed the Sword back then; today, you die by the sword." The Vice-Lord of the Javelin Civilization roared, "So what?

Even if I die by the sword today, I have no regrets." "Back then, a group of lunatics dared to challenge the Heavens, demanding everyone become a dragon—how was that possible? They were truly impractical madmen.

I am a rational person; I am no madman. The Way of the Sword endures for eternity; thinking otherwise is simply impossible," the Vice-Lord of the Javelin Civilization bellowed.

"If you didn't challenge the Heavens, no one would have blamed you. You simply didn't go.

But why did you betray the teaching? Look at the Vice-Lord of the Evil Sword Civilization; he didn't go to challenge the Heavens, and nothing happened to him.

Yet, you slaughtered many from the Sword Ancients. After the main force of the Sword Ancients died challenging the Heavens, you wreaked havoc upon the Way of the Sword and suppressed it in this current epoch," Lu Yuan demanded.

"Nonsense. My strength is considerable, but I still needed powerful backing.

Lu Yuan, if you didn't have the Lord of the Law Ancient Civilization as your backer, you’d have died long ago. And that’s despite your immense fortune and various other factors keeping you alive.

Once the Sword Ancients were destroyed, the Way of the Sword was doomed. New powers in the new epoch sought to strike at the Way of the Sword.

How could I not find a patron? And only by killing my former brethren could my patron feel truly secure.

If I hadn't betrayed the civilization back then, how could the Javelin Civilization have grown into such a massive power? For the sake of my ambition, what is the sacrifice of a few former comrades?

They should feel honored to die for me," the Vice-Lord of the Javelin Civilization sneered, showing not a trace of remorse even in death. To him, the concept of regret was laughable, utterly ridiculous.

"If you hadn't appeared, if you hadn't interfered, I could have ascended to the rank of Civilization Lord and achieved far greater things, ensuring the longevity of the Javelin Way," the Vice-Lord of the Javelin Civilization laughed grandly. "Alas, alas, it is all too late.

Ambition unfulfilled, ambition unfulfilled." The Vice-Lord of the Javelin Civilization roared several times, and this ambitious, ruthless figure finally perished completely. With this, debts of grievance were settled.

Lu Yuan couldn't help but feel a touch of melancholy. The confrontation with the Javelin Civilization had dragged on for so long, and now, finally, he had slain their Vice-Lord.

Lu Yuan casually swept his hand, collecting the spoils. After all, the Vice-Lord of the Javelin Civilization was a figure from the Nine Epochs and surely possessed many valuables.

For instance, there were Celestial-grade Spirit Veins. The Vice-Lord of the Javelin Civilization was certainly not as wealthy as the Son of the Wilderness, but his accumulated savings over the years amounted to a full five hundred Celestial-grade Spirit Veins.

Combined with those taken from the previously slain Vice-Lord of the Fox Civilization, Lu Yuan now possessed a total of two thousand six hundred Celestial-grade Spirit Veins—a truly staggering number. In the Vice-Lord of the Javelin Civilization’s possession were two fragments of the ancient map leading to the Tomb of the Sword Cultivator, one more than anticipated.

He had initially believed the Vice-Lord only held one. With these additions, Lu Yuan had accumulated five fragments, leaving only three more needed to complete the set.

Aside from these two items, there were no other significant treasures. Lu Yuan checked further and found no other formidable figures on the Javelin Civilization's side.

Originally, the Vice-Lord of the Severed God Civilization was quite powerful, but upon witnessing how quickly the Vice-Lord of the Javelin Civilization fell to Lu Yuan, his spirit was broken, and he had already fled in the chaos. Given the current state of the Solidified Star Domain, it would be extremely difficult to track him down now that he had escaped.

He still had one person left to kill: the Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization. The Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization had once murdered his own disciple to pursue the Dao.

Back when Lu Yuan was cultivating the Fire-Devouring Dragon, he had received help from that disciple, the Fire Qilin, and had promised the Qilin he would avenge him. Promises made must be kept; this had always been one of Lu Yuan's noble virtues.

Lu Yuan moved instantly, heading straight for the location of the Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization. Along the way, he encountered the Vice-Lord of the Miao Civilization.

The Vice-Lord of the Miao Civilization had attacked Lu Yuan during the ancient Phoenix Civilization era. Back then, the Lord of the Phoenix Ancient Civilization had intervened, or Lu Yuan might have met his end.

Now, encountering the Vice-Lord of the Miao Civilization, Lu Yuan naturally intended to settle that score by taking his life. The Vice-Lord of the Miao Civilization attempted to unleash his 'Blade of Agriculture' maneuver.

However, times had changed. Back then, Lu Yuan could barely withstand that attack, but now, the Vice-Lord of the Miao Civilization from the Seventh Epoch was nothing in Lu Yuan's eyes.

That 'Blade of Agriculture' held only a modicum of power; Lu Yuan disregarded it completely and effortlessly slew the Vice-Lord of the Miao Civilization. Another grievance was settled.

Lu Yuan rapidly arrived at the location of the Fire Civilization, which was currently locked in a fierce battle with its old rival, the Ice Civilization. The Vice-Lord of the Ice Civilization was pinned down by the Primordial Heavenly Venerable of the Immortal Ancient Civilization, giving the Fire Civilization a significant advantage.

The battlefield here was a chaotic clash where flames scorched the star domain while ice crystals froze it solid. The Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization relied heavily on sorcery, and Lu Yuan held no interest in learning the limits of his techniques.

Lu Yuan stopped and roared, "Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization!" The Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization, engaged in combat, looked up, his expression confused. "Lu Yuan?" This was their first time meeting.

Lu Yuan’s expression remained unchanged. "Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization, I claim your life.

This is repayment for the Nine-Headed Fire Qilin." The Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization instantly understood. "So that’s it.

You have connections with my unworthy disciple. If you're here to die, hurry up!

I'll slay you and earn great merit." He also hadn't heard the news of Lu Yuan killing the Son of the Wilderness; the Solidified Star Domain was simply too vast. "Good." Lu Yuan attacked instantly.

Against the Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization, there was no need for trickery. Lu Yuan's current strength allowed him to crush opponents at the level of a Ninth Epoch cultivator purely through brute force.

Lu Yuan advanced with overwhelming power: "Sword One: Profound Flowers Pass in a Blink, Opening for a Season." "Sword Two: Protection." "Sword Three: Dust Oblivion." "Sword Four: Void." "Sword Five: Solely Sword." "Sword Six: Tyranny That Shakes Heaven." "Sword Seven: Minor Sword Realm." "Sword Eight: Ten Thousand Swords Return to One." "Sword Nine: Sword of Seven Emotions." "Sword Ten: Circle and Square." This time, Lu Yuan used no tricks against the Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization; he simply unleashed his sword techniques one by one, using an unparalleled, righteous sword momentum to overwhelm his opponent. Lu Yuan's Immortal Sword of Nurturing Self manifested a grand, righteous momentum, vast and pure.

Although the Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization unleashed a series of powerful flames—such as Civilization Divine Fire, a fusion of Civilization Fire and divine characteristics; Eternal Starfire, forged from the Eternal Star Domain; and Ultimate Nine-Heavens Fire, created based on the traits of the Fire Qilin—each capable of shaking eternity, they lost some of their imposing aura against Lu Yuan's upright sword momentum. This was the first time the Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization had clashed with Lu Yuan, but he felt Lu Yuan's swordsmanship and power were elevated to a level that could only be called terrifying.

He wanted to struggle, to resist, but he found that no matter how hard he struggled or resisted, Lu Yuan’s straightforward, steady method meant his cultivation was higher, his techniques were superior—what recourse did he have? Boom!

Boom! Boom!

Boom! Flames raged, and the Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization was wounded, and then wounded again.

Finally, a sword thrust pierced his heart, obliterating his Fire Minor Thousand World entirely. Lu Yuan looked at the dying man and said earnestly, "A disciple is not meant to be killed." The Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization scoffed, "Why can't a disciple be killed?

As long as it gets me to Civilization Lord, forget a disciple, I’d kill anything. You were merely born with great fortune, and your strength soared quickly; you don't know the agony of being stuck in one realm for years.

For strength, for ambition, what do a few disciples matter?" "No. Under any circumstance, as long as my disciples have not betrayed me, I will not murder my own students.

That is my principle," Lu Yuan stated very seriously. People are different, and Lu Yuan and the Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization were fundamentally different beings.

The Vice-Lord spat out several mouthfuls of blood before finally dying. Lu Yuan had now killed the Son of the Wilderness, the Vice-Lord of the Fox Civilization, the Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization, the Vice-Lord of the Javelin Civilization, and the Vice-Lord of the Miao Civilization—a harvest astonishing in scale.

Meanwhile, on the side of the Desolate Immortal Buddha Alliance, the Vice-Lord of the Fate Civilization was still directing the overall situation. The Vice-Lord of the Fate Civilization was currently engaged in profound calculation.

His fate divination had reached an extremely subtle and refined level, rarely making errors. According to his calculations, the Son of the Wilderness possessed a robust destiny and powerful fate, meaning he should not have died in this conflict.

Yet, he was dead. Lu Yuan’s own fate was supposedly not that strong; logically, based on fate, Lu Yuan should have died while the Son of the Wilderness lived.

Why had this happened? Merely explaining it through the concept of challenging the Heavens offered no coherent answer.

"Report: The Vice-Lord of the Fox Civilization died at Lu Yuan's hands." "Report: The Vice-Lord of the Javelin Civilization died at Lu Yuan's hands." "Report: The Vice-Lord of the Miao Civilization died at Lu Yuan's hands." "Report: The Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization died at Lu Yuan's hands." Reports of disaster kept pouring in—and not just minor setbacks, but the demise of civilization leaders. Generally, it was rare for a civilization leader to perish, but now, facing Lu Yuan, they were dying one after another.

The reports of loss were incessant. For some unknown reason, a phrase echoed in the mind of the Vice-Lord of the Fate Civilization: Lu Yuan has slaughtered immensely; Lu Yuan has slain men like hemp; Lu Yuan is dominating the battlefield.

Looking at the current situation, it genuinely seemed possible that Lu Yuan was dominating the field, single-handedly reversing the tide of war. "What about the strongest assassination squad?" the Vice-Lord of the Fate Civilization inquired.

"The strongest assassination squad is currently entangled with the enemy's strongest assassination squad," the assistant immediately replied. "Moreover, I fear that even ten members of our strongest assassination squad fighting together would struggle to kill Lu Yuan.

It is true that the strongest assassination squad members each possess tricky defenses and unique methods, but they failed when pursuing the less powerful Lu Yuan previously. To face a Lu Yuan this strong now, I fear the strongest assassination squad might be erased from existence." The assistant wiped a bead of sweat.

Lu Yuan's current unstoppable rampage, killing everyone in his path, truly left those who plotted strategies feeling helpless. (First update delivered.)